Saturday, October 28, 2006

ADHD in Chicago

No pictures this time, just a quick blog to let people know that Reba and I have been in Chicago the past two days at an International ADHD conference. Our oldest, Jacob, has ADHD and we decided to try and learn as much as we could about this area and get idea of what we can do to be an advocate for him. The conference has been amazing with top researchers in the field and a lot of great, practical knowledge that we can bring home and incorporate into the family. It was one of the best decisions we have made so far for the well being of our family. All of the grandparents and aunts have been helping out with the kids at home while we have been gone which we have really appreciated. Until next time. Signing out from the windy city.

Robb and Reba

ADHD in Chicago

No pictures this time, just a quick blog to let people know that Reba and I have been in Chicago the past two days at an International ADHD conference. Our oldest, Jacob, has ADHD and we decided to try and learn as much as we could about this area and get idea of what we can do to be an advocate for him. The conference has been amazing with top researchers in the field and a lot of great, practical knowledge that we can bring home and incorporate into the family. It was one of the best decisions we have made so far for the well being of our family. All of the grandparents and aunts have been helping out with the kids at home while we have been gone which we have really appreciated. Until next time. Signing out from the windy city.

Robb and Reba

Monday, October 23, 2006

Pumpkin carving 101




Pumpkin carving is always very interesting around our house because it is always filled with a lot intensity. They love how it all feels through their fingers and mostly love playing with the innards of the pumpkin. Normally we find pictures from years past with the kids in the kitchen, in their underwear carving away. Not this year. Grandma and Grandpa LeRoy came over this year and we carved out on the lawn. It was a sunny day, even though it was on the colder side. They got messy and it didn't matter because we could just hose them off afterwards. Jonah and Noah were done first with their pumpkins, it was Jacob who always has specific ideas about what he wants his to look like. I laughed because Pappa was the carver for Jacob and he sat out there with him taking direction from Jacob. Pappa said that it was the first pumpkin he has carved with a tale. Jacob also wanted a tongue coming out the front. No one ever said Jacob doesn't know what he wants. They had a great time. While we were outside, Reba was inside making homemade soup and beer bread. I know, it makes it sound like Martha Stewart stopped by the house, but it really wasn't like that. Reba wanted to cook in her new kitchen so what better time. She also boiled pumpkin and actually made pumpkin bread which was incredible. It was a great fall day and since we haven't done something like this in awhile, we really enjoyed it. Today, we are going to cook the pumpkin seeds, which is my favorite part. By the way, we did get a little Yoda Halloween costume on Ebay, so it looks like it will be a funny Halloween with the pictures. Keep you all posted. Have a great week.

Robb and Reba

Friday, October 20, 2006

GG is a year older!!! 92



Well, I came across some of these pictures of GG's 93rd Birthday surrounded by some of her many great-grandchildren. The other picture is of all the great-grandchildren playing in the front of the assisted living on the way in for her birthday. It is amazing to me that a person who has lived 93 years, still has the brain capacity to remember every one of her family member's birthday's. Her memory is incredible. I enjoy going and visiting with her and asking a lot of questions about how things were for her as a teenager, first married, and what it was like to be a mother in the 1950's. She has such a positive outlook on life, which may be the reason she is still here today. She amazes me, even on a bad day. She has the love of many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She loves getting letters and phone calls still from all over the country updating her on their lives. As Tom would say in our family, "Hey grandma, you're half way to 186." When he told her this on her birthday, she just laughed. Happy Birthday GG!!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Fall weekend away in Spokane




We picked the kids up from school on Friday and raced across the state towards Spokane with puppy in tow. Long drive over, but the kids did great and we were glad to arrive. We stayed with my brother and sister in law and their three kids. Astrid had a soccer game early on Saturday, so we all went and watched their team win. It was a bright, sunny day, but definitely colder. We ran off after the game and went up to Green Bluff, and area with a lot of farms that celebrate Octoberfest with pumpkin patches, hay rides etc. The kids had a great time jumping off bales of hay, eating caramel apples, and watching the pumpkin cannon shoot pumpkins 900 feet into the air. It was the only time the kids sat quietly. Jonah has now found his job in life--a famous pumpkin cannon operator. He thought it was the best ever. The rest of the day was spent at Whitworth college at different events for Reba's 10 year reunion. They had a big barbecue and the football game. We saw a lot of old friends and their children. That night, we went out to the official reunion dinner and had a great time catching up with everyone. On Sunday, it was a race back across the state.

It was so nice to take time out and get away from all the chaos at home. We are still trying to finish up little tasks and a lot of people have been asking what we are talking about. People have been saying, "what you could possibly have left to do?" We have base boards to paint, knobs to put on the kitchen cabinets, a wall to touch up, the ceiling to paint again, the fireplace to tile and grout x2, and many more little tasks that seem to take three times as long as anyone thinks. We are glad to have a kitchen we can cook in so we aren't complaining about anything. The kids are enjoying their own beds and riding the bus home from school each day. Routine is good for all of us.

With Halloween coming, one may ask what the LeRoy boys would like to be for this occasion. Jacob wants to be Darth Vador, Jonah, a Storm Trooper, and Noah, Yoda. I don't know that Noah wants to be Yoda per se, but it sure would look funny don't you think. Noah is our little Yoda anyway, so he would fit the part. We will see what happens. Hope all are well this week.

Robb and Reba

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The new addition to the family



That's right, in the midst of everything else going on, we thought it fitting to try our hands as a dog owner. Most of you may think that it was the last thing we needed right now and you would probably be right on the money. But, Reba and I tell ourselves all the time that life is short and worth living....or something like that. We picked up Lego from his owners two weeks ago and Jacob had already named him Lego. As you can probably tell, Jacob loves legos in general so he thought it fitting to name the dog after his first love. We won't lie to all of you and tell you it has been a walk in the park, but it could have been much worse also. When we accepted the dog, we were still living with Reba's parents, Mark and Sue. They also received their dog from the litter that sane day. So, the scenario looked something like this; All five of us are living with them for two weeks with two new puppies running around pooping and wetting. They did quite well together and in the evenings would wrestle and pounce on each other until they were exhausted. Many of our evenings were spent sitting around telling the dogs to stop biting the chair etc. You know the drill. We got into a rhythm with the dogs and it hasn't been bad at all. My worst fear in getting a dog at this point in our lives was that I wasn't up for getting up in the night and taking him out to do his business. We have just completed that part of our lives and don't care to revisit this. We can all say, "Thank God" because Lego sleeps through the night and doesn't whine until we come out in the morning. We have had some accidents with nice piles in different places, but Noah usually yells out that Lego pooped and then runs through the house saying, "No, no Lego". It is our built in poop siren if you will. Anyway, he is very cute and he does add a lot to our family. The kids love it and play with him all the time. At this point they are still fighting over the chance to feed him at mealtime and pick up the poop---see how long this lasts.

Aside from the dog and finishing up on things with the house, I guess that would be why we haven't blogged in two weeks. Absolutely no time. When we were staying with Mark and Sue, once the kids were in bed at night, we were up at the house painting etc. We were both to the point where we felt like we were close to the snapping point. I told someone the other day that when you wish for a non-fatal accident to put you in the hospital for a three day rest period, you know it's bad. We were wishing for a lot of those over the past couple weeks. We did finally move back home this past week on Thursday 10/5 and have spent most of our days moving stuff back into the bedrooms after the carpet was put in. We have also been doing a lot of the finish work which always seems easy, but it takes weeks. Today, we actually moved our kitchen in with dishes etc and I still find myself reaching for the paper plates and plastic forks. Each day we are gaining back some small sense of normalcy in our lives. Things are looking great by the way and when I actually find the camera, I will take pictures and put them up for all to see. We are trying to get back some of the old traditions with the kids and bedtime, books, talk time, and prayers. They are really glad to have all of this back. We have the long list of projects to complete before Reba and I take off for a much needed vacation without the kids to............Chicago for a national conference on ADHD. Ok, so maybe it is not romantic, but it will be educational and time away. I will be better about more blogging now that the computer is hooked back in and I am not getting dressed out of my car anymore.

Robb and Reba